MEDFORD, MA (January 13, 2024) -- In what will be one of the team's smaller meets this season, the Tufts University women's track and field squad got the 2024 season underway with a big win of the 2024 Tufts Jumbo Invitational inside Gantcher Field House Saturday afternoon.
The meet was a great start to the season, as Tufts welcomed in three other teams in UMass Dartmouth, Springfield and Rhode Island College. The Jumbos rolled past Springfield for the win with 261 points as a team, while the Pride posted 195 points for second place. RIC was third with 48 points, and UMass Dartmouth took fourth with 31 points.
There was a bevy of strong individual performances for the Jumbos, starting first with first-year
Simisola Lawal, who ran the top time in the 60 meter dash in preliminaries with a 7.98 time. She would take second in the finals with a 7.99, followed closely by
Sarah Pillone in fourth with a collegiate-best 8.07 and senior Madelyn Silveira in seventh with an 8.31.
Lawal was back at it in the 200 meters and shined in that event as well, as the newcomer earned the victory with a time of 27.02. Junior
Nyla Thompson was third overall in the 200 meters with a 27.87, and
Anne-Sophie Janssen also scored five points in the 200 meter dash with a 27.05.
The 400 meter run saw the Jumbos go 1-2 in the event, as
Emma Smith posted a New England Regional qualifying time of 1:01.13 for the victory while
Antonia Knoth was second with a 1:02.65 despite having to avoid a rogue set of hurdles that was left on the backstretch.
Tufts got another win in the 600 meter run, as
Annika Kral breezed to a New England Regional qualifying time of 1:40.56.
Amelia Neiman ran a personal-best time of 3:12.26 in the 1000 meter run for second place, earning eight points for the team total.
Emily Sverak was right behind her with a 3:17.98, also a personal-best in the 1000 as she took third place.
Geri Tabbachino ran a 6:09.92 in the mile for sixth place, and
Vivian Lau followed her teammate in seventh place after crossing the finish line in 6:13.66.
Pillone got her season off in the right way in the 60 meter hurdles Saturday, as she standout posted a regional qualifying time of 9.13 to win the event. Silveira was fourth with a time of 9.87 in the 60 hurdles, and
Sydney Spivy also took fifth after running a 10.43.
Cassidy Ho helped the Jumbos dominate the event, taking sixth with a 10.61.
Tufts was winners in both the 4x400 meter and 4x800 meter relays on Saturday, as the 4x400 group of Smith, Knoth, Janssen and Kral ran a 4:11.02. In the longer relay, Lau, Tabbachino,
Samantha Mayer and
Lexi Dean raced to a time of 11:25.67.
In the jumps, junior
Harper Meek established a new personal best in the high jump, clearing the bar at 1.67 meters to earn the victory. First-year
Lexi King had a strong meet, qualifying for the New England Regional meet with a height of 1.56 meters to take second. First-year
Sarina Khani was fifth after posting a height of 1.46 meters, and Spivy also cleared 1.36 meters for seventh place.
The pole vault saw Tufts junior
Sarah Firth have a strong start to the season with a win, as Tufts finished 1-2-4 in the event. Firth cleared 3.70 meters to pick up the win, while Thompson was second with a height of 3.10 meters. Sophomore
Amelie Wickham also cleared 2.80 meters to earn five points in fourth place.
Tufts had seven competitors score in the long jump, highlighted by Silveira and her final mark of 5.02 meters. First-year
Nora Jean-Jacques was second after a mark of 4.81 meters on her fourth attempt, and junior
Jordan Andrew was third with a leap of 4.17 meters.
In the triple jump, Pillone qualified for the New England Regional meet with a winning mark of 10.85 meters, and
Maelynn Ugokwe was second with a strong distance of 10.62 meters.
First-year
Jackie Wells was the Tufts standout in the shot put, as the newcomer finished fourth with a 10.53 meter toss on her first attempt of the day. Ugokwe was seventh in the shot put with a 9.99 meter heave, while newcomer
Ceci LaBarge was eighth after her pair of 9.92 meter tosses.
Senior
Liz Graham recorded a New England Regional meet qualifying distance with a 13.44 meter throw, taking second place.
Madeline Walters was eighth as well with a distance of 11.80 meters, a new personal-best in the event.
For the full results, click
HERE.
Tufts will be back in action next Saturday, hosting the Branwen Smith-King Invitational in Gantcher Field House January 20 at 10 a.m.
--JUMBOS--
